Nadine’s Wild Weekend Set to Strike Bay Area August 22-25

San Francisco's "Godmother of Rock" Nadine Condon is poised to deliver her biggest, most highly anticipated Nadine’s Wild Weekend in its four-year history. Co-sponsored by BMI, the four day local music event devoted exclusively to Northern California music will be held August 22-25 with over 135 bands playing at 15 clubs in San Francisco.

San Francisco has a strong tradition of great music and experienced music industry professionals,” says Condon. “This festival is for all of Northern California to celebrate the decades of world class rock and roll that continues year after year in spite of the industry’s ups and downs.”

This year heavy-hitting national acts including BMI's Smash Mouth (Interscope), Third Eye Blind (Elektra) and Stroke 9 (Cherry/Universal), as well as Papa Roach (DreamWorks) have stepped up to give Nadine’s Wild Weekend a nod of accreditation as sponsors. In fact, DreamWorks Records has seized the opportunity to place Papa Roach’s CD, lovehatetragedy, in the special Nadine’s Wild Weekend/LIVE 105/Tower Records sales display that will be up during the month of August.

"You have to support the home team,” said Patrick Jordan of DreamWorks. “Nadine’s Wild Weekend offers Papa Roach hometown fans the opportunity to feel that the band is there, supporting them, even though they are on the road with Eminem and Korn.”

Steve Harwell, front man for Smash Mouth adds: “The San Francisco Music scene rocks and so does Nadine’s Wild Weekend.”

Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind continues: "The San Francisco Bay Area is our creative home and the scene here has been under attack for years...We want bands, clubs, rehearsal spaces and a city full of freaks...Nadine's Wild Weekend is a good chance for the music scene’s survival."

Condon has a lot to be optimistic about. This year’s event received double the number of entries submitted for possible showcase slots than last year. Additionally, Condon has set up a promotional program for bands to participate in that offers prominent CD placement in local Tower Record Stores, ad spots on LIVE 105, advertising exposure in the official Nadine’s Wild Weekend pull out program contained in the August 21 issue of the SF Weekly, and web site presence on three major radio station sites. All of this is supported by a full-force outreach to the national music industry on their behalf.

“It is more important than ever for artists to have as many business skills as possible,” says Condon. “That's why we have created a situation where bands can witness and/or participate in promotions that mirror a major label release. Bands are making the music, so let’s give them the tools to sell their music, and let’s make it fun while we do it.”

Along with showcasing the next crop of talented bands, Condon wants to stimulate the industry’s consciousness and remind them that there are a lot of talented business people in the Bay Area that contribute to the overall big music industry picture and keep its wheels turning even when the chips are down.

“San Francisco is a hotbed for music industry professionals who have made a choice to live here while maintaining an industry-wide presence,” says Condon. “One of the vehicles in which we present this information to the industry is through our 'tip sheets' that highlight our local crop of managers, producers, publicists, agents, sound designers and game developers in addition to the bands.”

It is Condon’s belief that giving back is part of the cycle of good business, and Nadine’s Wild Weekend is committed to the support of music-related charities. This year’s charity beneficiary is San Francisco-based Active Music, which will benefit from the sale of the commemorative “Nadine’s Wild Weekend 2002” compilation CD of Wild Weekend bands that will be sold at all of the clubs and at participating Tower Records' locations.

Active Music's mission is to use the power of music to raise sustainable funding, awareness, and activism for charitable causes and programs. Members of the Active Music team have successfully partnered with more than 100 artists to produce over 400 benefit events attended by more than 1.5 million people, generating 15 million media impressions and raising millions of dollars for the nonprofit community. In 2001, the team produced three benefit events that raised over $1.3 million for nonprofit organizations.

About Nadine’s Wild Weekend The first Nadine's Wild Weekend (NWW) was in 7 clubs with 70 bands over 2 1/2 days. The second NWW bumped up to 10 clubs with 100 bands over 3 days and included the opening night bash at the Fillmore starring Stroke 9, just as they were releasing their hit single, "Little Black Backpack." Last year, the event featured 135 bands in 30 shows in 20 clubs over 4 days, and the closing show featured Jason Newsted's first post-Metallica project, Echobrain.

About Nadine Condon Nadine Condon started working in the Bay Area music industry in 1977. Over 20 years later, she continues to be instrumental in the success of some of today's hottest acts, yet remains committed to new and developing talent. Producing BMI showcases throughout the 90's, she featured bands like the Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind and Train before they were known. She has continued that legacy with Nadine’s Wild Weekend, her signature event. Besides serving as executive director of NWW, she is a band mentor and counselor, author and speaker.